The generation of humoral and cell-mediated immunity is orchestrated by the interaction of activated helper T cells with antigen-presenting cells (“APCs”) and effector T cells. Activation of the helper T cells is not only dependent on the interaction of the antigen-specific T-cell receptor (“TCR”) with its cognate peptide-MHC ligand, but also requires the coordinate binding and activation by a number of cell adhesion and costimulatory molecules (Salazar-Fontana et al., Curr. Opin. Hemat., 2001, 8, 5).
A critical costimulatory molecule is CD154 (also known as CD40 ligand, CD40L, gp39, T-BAM, T-Cell Activating Molecule, TRAP), a Type II transmembrane protein that is expressed in an activation-dependent, temporally-restricted, manner on the surface of CD4+ T cells. CD154 is also expressed, following activation, on a subset of CD8+ T cells, basophils, mast cells, eosinophils, natural killer cells, B cells, macrophages, dendritic cells and platelets. The CD154 counter-receptor, CD40, is a Type I membrane protein that is constitutively and widely expressed on the surface of many cell types, including APCs (Foy et al., Ann. Rev. Immunol., 1996, 14, 591).
Signaling through CD40 by CD154 initiates a cascade of events that result in the activation of the CD40 receptor-bearing cells and optimal CD4+ T cell priming. More specifically, the cognate interaction between CD154 and CD40 promotes the differentiation of B cells into antibody secreting cells and memory B cells (Burkly, In Adv. Exp. Med. Bio., Vol. 489., D. M. Monroe, U. Hedner, M. R. Hoffman, C. Negrier, G. F. Savidge, and G. C. I. White, eds. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2001, p. 135). Additionally, the CD154-CD40 interaction promotes cell-mediated immunity through the activation of macrophages and dendritic cells and the generation of natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (Burkly, supra).
The CD40-CD154 interaction has been shown to be important in several experimentally induced autoimmune diseases, such as collagen-induced arthritis, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (“EAE”), oophoritis, colitis, drug-induced lupus nephritis. Specifically, it has been shown that disease induction in all of these models can be blocked with CD154 antagonists at the time of antigen administration (Burkly, supra).
The blockade of disease using anti-CD154 antagonists has also been seen in animal models of spontaneous autoimmune disease, including insulin-dependent diabetes and lupus nephritis, as well as in graft-vs-host disease, transplant, pulmonary fibrosis, and atherosclerosis disease models (Burkly, supra).
Although glycosylated anti-CD154 antibodies have proven useful for the prevention and treatment of several immune response-related diseases, in some subjects, therapies using them are sometimes complicated by thromboembolitic activity. Although the mechanism of this side effect is unknown, it could involve the colligation by the anti-CD154 antibody, or aggregates thereof, of FcgRIIa and CD154 on platelets, leading to inappropriate platelet activation. Binding to other Fcγ receptors and complement could also potentiate this effect. Thus, forms of anti-CD154 antibodies that do not bind to effector receptors may be safer and/or more effective for therapeutic use.
The mechanism by which anti-CD154 antibodies inhibit immune function may be more complex than simple binding to CD154 to block interactions with CD40 and, in fact, may include contributions by effector pathways. For example, antibody-antigen binding may induce deletion of activated T cells through Fc domain binding to Fcγ receptors or complement components. Alternatively, binding of the antibody to CD154 may be enhanced by the formation of a cell surface scaffold of the antibody on Fcγ receptor-bearing cells. In addition, access of the antibody to its site of action may be promoted by Fcγ receptor binding interactions.
The pivotal role of CD154 in regulating the function of both the humoral and cell-mediated immune response has provoked great interest in the use of inhibitors of this pathway for therapeutic immunomodulation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,771). As such, anti-CD154 antibodies have been shown to be beneficial in a wide variety of models of immune response to other therapeutic proteins or gene therapy, allergens, autoimmunity and transplantation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,771; Burkly, supra).
Accordingly, there remains a need for antibodies that do not provoke a strong immune response but yet bind strongly to their antigens and methods for identifying such antibodies, in particular, improved CD154 antibodies.